Willis Grant Atchison

He will be sadly missed by his wife of 57 years, Marie, his niece and caregiver Daunine and his nephew Joe from Vancouver.

He is survived by his sister Marion (Winnipeg) and Maxine (Edmonton) and his sister-in-law Eileen (Edmonton) along with numerous nieces and nephews throughout Canada and the U.S.

Grant had a vision for his life and he lived that vision with passion. His work in the steel industry took him and Marie from Whitby, Ontario to Midlothian, Texas where he and Marie built two homes. From there they moved to Melbourne, AU to further Grant’s career. They lived in Australia for 9 years and made life-long friends. Their next move was to Auckland, NZ for a 9 month position and in a house that overlooked the ocean. When it was time to move back to North America, Grant landed a job as the General Manager of the Rolling Mill in West Seattle where they lived for another 5 wonderful years.

Grant was a career man, but at heart he was a farmer. In 1999, Grant and Marie retired to the Dove Creek area in Courtenay, B.C. on 21 acres of land and Grant became a farmer, which was his life-long dream. When the size of their house and acreage became too much to handle Grant had another vision. He wanted to lease an acre of land on an existing farm, and build a modular home to live in for the duration of their lives. Grant and Marie achieved that goal 3 years ago and gained an adopted family with Ryan and Janice Thorburn and their children and grandchildren on Cinnamon Hill Farm. Grant loved to watch the comings and goings on the farm, the black bear and deer visits, the horses and the children. He was where he wanted to be.

Grant also passed as he envisioned, quickly and without pain. He will be forever missed by Marie, his family, extended family and friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held sometime in the future.

In lieu of flowers Grant requested that donations be made to one of his two favorite charities: 4H British Columbia Foundation, Vernon, B.C. Registration # 886318807RR0001 or Kidsport Canada, BC Chapter, Winnipeg, Manitoba Registration # 862125986RR0003.